It’s no secret that I enjoy examining the responses we receive during our breakout sessions at the Select Traveler Conference each year. At a great conference this year hosted by Visit Williamsburg and their regional partners, we had 55 travel planners for upscale groups arrive early enough to join us for breakouts that preceded the opening session.
A few statistics that surfaced from the surveys they completed yielded these findings:
• The movement toward smaller, more intimate travel groups continues. 56% of planners said they would have at least one group in 2026 of 18 or fewer. Only 19% expected to have at least one group of 50 or more. And, as more planners took the survey, the percentage of those running larger groups decreased; as the sample size went up, the share of large groups went down.
• In a related question, planners were asked to define a “small group” for travel purposes. 45% said 15 or fewer, 52% said 25 or fewer, and only 3% said 30 or fewer.
• Boomers are still the largest demographic for these planners, but not by much. 78% will run trips that include boomers (62-80 years old) in 2026, but 72% will also run trips that include Gen X travelers (46-61 years old), and 28% will run trips that include millennials (30-45 years old).
• The use of itinerary apps continues to increase. In 2026, 17% of planners say their travelers will be expected to use an app for their trip, and 23% say the use of an app will be preferred but not required. 60% say they will not expect their travelers to use an app this year.
• The era of group trips that exclusively feature planned activities is coming to an end. When asked to describe most of their travelers’ preferences for free time, 20% of planners said their travelers cannot wait to explore on their own. 73% said their travelers will want a few recommendations to consider but are happy to explore those on their own. Only 7% of the planners said that free time still frustrates their travelers.
• On the not-so-good-news front, 82% of planners said inflationary trends in lodging, meals and transportation costs are becoming a serious drag on their businesses. Only 18% disagreed.
